


The Wedding Date

by cnormich



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Getting Together, M/M, Secret Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23509162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnormich/pseuds/cnormich
Summary: Buck needs a pretend date to his cousin's wedding. Eddie is a surprisingly willing participant.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 535





	The Wedding Date

~

“Hey Chim, pass the spaghetti.” 

Plates were flying around, laughter filled the station, and Buck felt like he could barely get a word in, but in the very best way. He smiled to himself and filled his plate, making sure to grab an extra meatball or two. 

Eddie gave him a nudge. “Hey, save some of those for me.” 

Buck grinned, forking over a few more onto his own plate as revenge. 

“Isn’t that right, Buck?” Chim’s voice had carried over to him, and the room was focused on him.

Buck wracked his mind trying to figure out what they were talking about before he was hopelessly distracted, but came up empty. “Sorry, uh, what?” 

“I  _ said, _ ” Chim rolled his eyes, “that we are going on our first trip together. We’ll have plenty of time to  _ bond _ .” The room laughed, Buck furrowed his brow. “The wedding!”

“Oh!” Buck remembered. “My cousin’s getting married next month. In Pennsylvania. Maddie’s bringing Chim.” 

Bobby chuckled. “Even I knew that. I remember you putting in the time off request. Did you forget your cousin’s wedding?”

“I’ve been trying to. I’ve been trying to distract myself from having to figure out my plus one situation.” 

Hen laughed. “Your plus one  _ situation? _ ”

He huffed, all eyes were on him and now he had to tell them the whole story. “Look, I’m not exactly looking forward to it. My last cousin’s wedding was four years ago, and Buck 1.0 got himself into a bit of trouble with some of the bridesmaids.” They all laughed and he sunk into his chair. “This time around the bride made me promise I’d bring a date. She thinks it’ll keep me out of trouble.”

Chim laughed the loudest. “I’d offer, but you  _ know  _ I’m taken.” 

Bobby pipes up. “Eddie’s not working that weekend.” Athena swats his arm and shakes her head. Buck stops chewing his pasta. Bobby shrugs. “What?” 

The silence was too long. Finally, Eddie speaks. “Well, okay.” He says, and Buck gulps. “I could ask Abuela to take Chris that weekend.” He turns to Buck. “Will a friend be enough of a distraction to keep the hot bridesmaids away from you?” 

Buck focuses in on his plate and shrugs, swirling his fork to grab a bite full of spaghetti. “My family knows I’m bi. I’m sure you’re  _ more _ than enough.” He stuffs the pasta in his face to hide the flush crawling up his cheeks. 

His chewing seems so loud. He looks up - the room has gone silent. Hen speaks first - “Buck, you’re bi?”

Chim nearly jumps out of his chair. “Ha! Did you not know? I knew and no one else did?”

Hen rolled her eyes. “You have an unfair advantage. And I’m sure Eddie knew.” 

Eddie coughed. “Uh, no. I didn’t know.” 

“Well it wasn’t a  _ secret  _ you guys,” Buck huffed, “it just never came up!” They all went back to eating their meal. In silence, but at least there was spaghetti twirling and forks clinking. 

Athena raised an eyebrow. “All that time at Eddie’s house and it... _ never came up?” _

Buck was sure he was bright red at this point. He tried to sneak a glance at Eddie.

Bobby grinned. “Okay, okay everyone. All I’m trying to say is, Eddie, you could use a vacation, and it sounds like Buck has just the one for you.” 

~ 

Buck’s mind raced as he practically threw on his clothes, trying to get out of there as fast as he could. He wasn’t lying, if anyone had asked he would have told them he was bi. It was never meant to be a secret. And then by the time Eddie joined the team it was too late. If he told any of them he was afraid they’d put two and two together and discover the  _ huge  _ crush he had on his friend. 

He slammed his locker shut, eager to make his escape. 

“Hey, Buck.” He heard Eddie say just as Buck swiveled towards the door. He turned back around to face the man, who was just pulling his shirt over his head.  _ Very distracting _ . Buck desperately tried to bring his eyes back up to Eddie’s face. “Bobby was right, I could use a vacation. And letting loose at a wedding does sound fun. Open bar?”

“Uh...yeah. Top shelf, I think, too. These are my  _ rich _ cousins.” 

Eddie shut his locker and turned to grin at him. “Sounds great. It’s a date.”

~

“You trained as a SEAL, you’ll run into a burning building without any hesitation, you survived a tsunami, and you’re telling me you’re a nervous flyer?” 

His teasing brought Buck back down to earth. “Huh?”

Eddie reached across the armrest to put his hand on Buck’s knee. Buck hadn’t realized he’d been bouncing his leg so much. Now he couldn’t tell if the roaring in his ears was from the plane or the warmth of Eddie’s hand on his jeans. 

“Oh,” Buck flushed, “Yeah. No matter how many times they tell me planes are the safest way to travel, I don’t believe them!” Eddie just looked at him. Buck sighed. “Okay I’m a little nervous about this wedding. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a lot of my family, and as you heard, it didn’t end well last time.”

Eddie pulled his hand away and laughed. “That was the last time you saw them? How long ago was that?”

“It’s been about 4 years. I’ve been hiding from them ever since.” 

Eddie gave him a quick shove. “I’m surprised they even invited you to this one.” 

Buck laughed along with him. “You and me both.” 

It was quiet again, and Buck turned his thoughts back to Eddie’s touch. It was the kind of thing Buck daydreamed about too often. Eddie’s hand on his knee. Eddie’s hand wrapping around his neck. Eddie’s lips on his - 

Buck squirmed in his seat. “Hey, man. I hope the whole bi thing didn’t freak you out. Sorry I didn’t tell you.” 

Eddie shrugged. “It didn’t freak me out.” He turned to face Buck. “Like you said, it never came up.”

Buck tried to mask the feelings from his face. Deep breath. “Well, I just mean, we can still just be friends at the wedding. As long as I have some kind of distraction, I don’t actually need a date.” 

Eddie shrugged again. “Okay, whatever you say.” 

~

Eddie grabbed their bags from the trunk of the Uber while Buck pulled up the hotel confirmation on his phone. “Maddie and Chim took an earlier flight, they should be here already. Everyone from the wedding is staying at this hotel. We have a few hours before the wedding starts, maybe we should see if they want drinks at the hotel bar.”

Eddie jabbed him gently. “Uh hey Buck, do you know them?” 

Buck looked up from his phone to see a family of three, the father passing off their luggage to the bellhop while the mother and daughter whispered and watched as the two men walked through the door. 

Buck put on his brightest smile and walked towards the group. “Hi Aunt Marcia!” He gave the woman a big hug, then turned to greet the teenager as well. Once the man handed the last bag off to the bellhop, he wiped his hands together and reached out to give Buck a hearty shake. “How have you all been?” 

They conversed for a moment, and then Buck felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned quickly at the touch. “Oh, Uncle Jack, Katie, Aunt Marcia, this is my coworker, Eddie!” 

The three of them acknowledged his friend, smiling and shaking his hand. 

Buck spoke again. “It’s so good to see you guys. I don’t think I’ve seen you since..Ashley’s wedding? Four years ago?” Buck heard Eddie quietly chuckle. 

Aunt Marcia’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes, I do think that was the last time.” 

Katie flicked her blonde locks over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “I was too young and wasn’t invited. But I  _ heard _ about it.” 

Aunt Marcia’s laugh was a bit too loud. “Teenagers! But yes I think we  _ all _ remember that wedding.” Buck bristled at the comments and braced himself. Aunt Marcia spoke again, with a biting tone. “So nice to see that you brought a friend this time. Do we need to keep all the bridesmaids away from him too?”

Buck was desperate to laugh it all off but couldn’t find the words. He floundered for a moment, chiding himself for not preparing himself in all that time he had on the plane. Suddenly, Eddie cleared his throat. “Boyfriend.” He said. “I’m Buck’s coworker, but I’m also his boyfriend.”

Buck just gaped at him. 

Eddie wrapped his arm around him and gave him a pointed look, then glanced back at Buck’s family. “We’ve been dating for 4 months.”

Buck pulled himself together. “Right - right. Sorry, I should have led with that.” 

The three of them seemed satisfied, and Buck and Eddie excused themselves to go check in at the front desk. 

A friendly younger woman with a ponytail and bright red lipstick smiled at them. “Welcome, are you checking in?” 

Buck pulled up the email and handed her his driver’s license. “Yes, it should be under Buckley.” He turned to Eddie while she typed away on her computer. “What was that?” 

“What was what?” 

Buck huffed. “Boyfriend?” He handed the woman his credit card as she quoted him the price for the night.

Eddie grinned. “Sorry - I don’t do well with teenagers. And I never back down on a challenge.” 

He rolled his eyes and leaned in a bit closer. “Just wait until Chris is a teenager.” 

“Who’s Chris?” Sarah’s voice from behind them made them both jump. 

“My son.” “His son.” They spoke at once. Marcia and Jack had made their way to the front desk as well. How long had they been standing there? 

The woman at the front desk handed back his belongings. “Okay to confirm, you’re checking in today and checking out tomorrow at 11 am, you’ve got a standard view room with one queen sized bed. Just sign here and you’re all set -” 

Buck’s pulse raced as he took in what she’d just said. He hesitated, “One queen sized -” 

Eddie grabbed the pen and handed it to him, gesturing with his eyes towards Buck’s relatives that were  _ definitely  _ still within earshot. Suddenly Eddie leaned in so close Buck could feel his warm breath against his ear. “Just sign it,” He whispered. “We’ll figure it out later.” Buck took the pen from his hand. “Now laugh like I said something funny.” 

Buck shivered and he definitely hadn’t calmed his pulse, but he tried to let out a convincing laugh as he scribbled his name across the form. He glanced back up at the hotel employee who was looking between the two of them curiously. There was clearly a question in her eyes, but to their relief, she only winked and handed them the room keys. “Enjoy your night, boys.”

~

“So wait -” Chim had come close to spitting his beer right out; he used his shirt sleeve to wipe a drop from his chin. “You actually told some of your relatives that you’re dating?” 

Buck groaned, not sure how to explain. 

Eddie spoke up instead. “I told them.” 

Buck caught Maddie’s eye as she smiled to herself and took a sip of her wine. He’d never told Maddie about his crush but he was sure his sister of all people had figured it out by now. Buck motioned to the server and asked for another beer. He needed it. 

Eddie shoved him in the shoulder. Buck flushed, he really wished Eddie would stop doing that. No - that’s not right. He wished Eddie would do so much more. “Buck, pace yourself, we’ve still got a whole wedding to sit through.” 

He nodded his thanks when the server slid the beer across the table. “That’s exactly why I need another beer.” 

~

About an hour later, Buck was tying his tie in front of the mirror while Maddie sat on the bed a few feet away. “Buck,” she laughed, “You’ve had an hour and a half to get ready. I’m even ready before you. You’re lucky Eddie’s still on the phone with Christopher or he’d be laughing at you too.”

He took one last look and combed his fingers through his hair. “I spent like an hour on the phone with Christopher before Eddie left the room. I have not been getting ready this entire time.” 

“ _ Sure. _ ” She smiled. She stood up and reached for his tie, straightening it a bit. “Perfect. Now you’re ready for your big date with Eddie.”

Buck could feel the flush in his neck and was sure it reached all the way to his ears. “This is not a real date and you know it. Eddie is very very straight.” 

“ _ Sure. _ ” She smiled again. “Whatever you say.” 

~

The ceremony was about to begin, and Buck had returned from greeting a few family members to find his place towards the front between Maddie and Eddie. It was an outdoor wedding, and the weather was beautiful. Chim leaned in to whisper something to Maddie and she threw her head back in laughter. 

Buck smiled at them before turning to his friend. “My relatives have lots of questions about you.” 

“I bet they do.” Eddie grinned.

“I still feel like everywhere I go I hear someone whisper ‘bridesmaids’”

Eddie lowered his voice and leaned in. “We could give them something else to talk about.” 

Buck barely had time to let the words sink in before he felt Eddie’s lips on his. His eyes widened at first, until Eddie reached for his neck and tugged him even closer. It was too easy to deepen the kiss, losing himself in Eddie’s touch and the feeling of his stubble, a sensation he’d only ever imagined. 

The music started, suddenly, and Eddie pulled away. Buck, breathless, practically whined in disappointment. He remembered that they had an audience and glanced around at his relatives, face flushed. 

“Pay attention.” Eddie teased. “It’s starting.” 

_ Pay attention? After that? Impossible.  _

~

If anybody asked, Buck couldn’t remember a single thing about that ceremony. He could barely remember the names of the bride and groom. He was ready for the reception to start and when it did he would be heading straight to the open bar. If anybody asked him for his thoughts on the wedding so far, he could chalk it up to the whiskey. 

Soon enough, he was sitting in the banquet hall swirling his glass of whiskey around before taking a big gulp. Eddie leaned over and elbowed him, his touch jolting Buck from his thoughts. “Are you okay? You haven’t said a word since we sat down.” 

Buck took another swig of his drink. “I’m great. Beautiful ceremony!” 

Maddie had been watching them, and she laughed. “Wasn’t it? What was your favorite part?”

The dinner had barely started, and Buck’s whiskey was almost gone. “All of it. Can’t decide.” He stood from the table. “Does anyone want another drink?” 

~

They spent most of dinner listening to Chim telling horror stories from work to the other guests at the table. Maddie kept trying to quiet him down, thinking these poor relatives didn’t want to hear all the gory details, especially at dinner, but he’d charmed them. He had them all at the rebar story. 

Buck and Eddie spent most of the dinner talking amongst themselves, talking about work, natural disasters, Christopher’s antics. Pretty soon they looked around and realized they were alone at the table - everyone had relocated to the dance floor. Buck found Maddie and Chim swaying back and forth to a cheesy love song and smiled. He wished he had that with someone. He wished he had that with - 

“What?” Eddie asked. 

“Nothing.” Buck said, a little too quickly. He rolled his napkin up and placed it on the table, leaning back in his chair. He’s not sure if it’s the music or the whiskey but he’s suddenly feeling very relaxed. “Hey man, thanks for coming.” 

“Are you kicking me out?” Eddie teased. 

“No - I just - I’m glad I didn’t have to come to this alone.” 

This time, Eddie took a swig of his drink, then stood up and pulled Buck up with him. “Come on - let’s dance.”

~

Hours later, everyone was still on the dance floor. Both men were sweating, and had started to feel the effects of all those drinks long before. The sweet romantic tunes had been replaced by fun throwbacks pretty quickly, and aside from a few of the older crowd that had gone home already, most of the party was on the floor shouting out all the words and participating in group dances they’d never be caught dead doing anywhere else. 

Buck didn’t want the night to end. He hadn’t even really been dancing  _ with _ Eddie - just dancing near him in a group of friends and family, watching him show off moves Buck never knew he had. It was all it took not to drool over him right on the dance floor. 

The bartender had announced last call, so it didn’t come as a surprise when the DJ announced the final song of the night. A familiar strumming of guitar started, and when the beat hit it seemed like everyone on the dance floor cheered.

Eddie found Buck and grabbed his arms, sweating and laughing and breathless all at once. “Have you ever heard people so excited about Purple Rain?” 

Buck shook his head with a smile, looking around at all the couples coming together. He could hear Maddie and Chim’s voices singing - or screaming - over all the others and he rolled his eyes. Of course  _ they  _ knew all the words. 

Eddie pulled him so close and the feeling of his breath on his cheek made Buck shiver. “Come on,” Eddie whispered, “Time to put on a show.” 

Buck’s mouth was very dry, and this time he couldn’t resist. “You’d better be convincing.” 

“I’ll give you your money’s worth.” 

“Who said anything about paying you?” He was trying desperately to ignore the way his body wanted to respond to the feeling of Eddie’s hands all over him. 

“Oh you’re going to owe me big time for this.” Eddie’s voice darkened. “Big. Time.” 

Buck couldn’t help it anymore - he surged forward and pushed their lips together. He almost caught himself and stepped back, but just then Eddie moved to deepen the kiss. He let out an embarrassing moan and hoped he wasn’t heard over the harsh tones of the electric guitar. Eddie grabbed him by the belt and slammed their bodies together and Buck knew in an instant that he would never recover from this. There’s no going back. 

Buck wasn’t sure how long they danced like this. It could have been 30 seconds, it could have been hours. He could guess from the sound of Prince and the entire wedding party reaching the end of the song that it had been about 7 minutes. Eddie had come up for air and was now trailing his lips up and down Buck’s neck as they swayed tightly together. God, he wanted to live in this moment forever. 

The song trailed off slowly, but the cheering of the crowd hit Buck like a cold bucket of water. He was being way too obvious, and he needed to stop before Eddie realized what was really happening here. Eddie shook his head slightly, looking a bit dazed. Buck sighed, “We should...go.” 

~

They’d said their goodbyes to the bride and groom, Maddie and Chim, a few other relatives, and then made their way upstairs. Buck was exhausted. He slid the room key into the door and pushed the door open, groaning when he remembered. 

“One queen bed.”

Eddie pushed past him and headed for his suitcase, grabbing a pair of sweats. He shrugged. “I’m cool with it if you are.” 

Cool with it? Of course he was  _ cool with it.  _ Just a bit  _ too  _ cool with it. “Uh, sure.” 

They crashed into bed. Buck could still taste the whiskey - and  _ Eddie _ \- on his lips, but he was trying so hard not to think about it.  _ Breathe.  _ He thought.  _ Breathe again.  _ Eddie seemed completely unbothered, just laying there, eyes closed, breathing totally normal. Buck couldn’t believe he’d let things get this far. Eddie had to know by now that Buck wasn’t pretending. His pulse raced at the thought of his friend figuring out his secret. What would this do to their friendship? Eddie would hate him. And what about Chris - he’d never get to see Chris anymore? And what about - 

“Buck,” Eddie groaned. “I can  _ hear  _ you thinking. What’s wrong?”

Buck glanced over as Eddie rolled over to face him, and his lips were inches away. Buck had no idea how he’d make it through this night with Eddie sleeping right next to him. Sleeping so close. Buck couldn’t help it and studied those lips, the temptation so strong. 

“Shh.” Eddie moved even closer. “I can still hear you.” 

Buck only had a moment to consider the look in his eyes before Eddie sprung forward and kissed him, harsh and desperate. The two of them writhing around in that queen sized bed, Eddie only stopping to whisper things in Spanish in his ear. Buck didn’t know what he was saying but he knew it sounded  _ hot.  _ He came to his senses and turned his head away from Eddie’s lips, wondering why this is the second time tonight he’s been the one to pull away. “Eddie,” he panted, “ What are you  _ doing _ ?” 

Eddie didn’t answer, only sucked on his neck in a way that had Buck seeing stars. “Seriously Eddie, what are you doing? It’s not like anyone is here to see this.” 

“ _ Buck.”  _ he groaned. “I  _ know _ .” He rolled his hips into Buck’s, who gasped in surprise. 

“Fuck, Eddie!” 

They were grinding into each other, needing to be so much closer, breathing heavily between kisses. Buck was so hard, and he could feel that Eddie was too. He was the one to make Eddie so hard. Eddie was the one grunting and moaning in his ear. Eddie was the one who - 

“ _ Fuck,  _ Eddie.” He was embarrassingly close. “Eddie, you have to slow down, I’m about to - “

Suddenly Eddie had reached down, grabbing him through his sweatpants, feeling him and giving him one quick stroke. “Yes,  _ cariño _ .” He rasped. “Do it.”

Just like that, it was over for him, and Eddie came right after in a series of moans. The two of them were tangled up, breathing together, until they fell asleep. 

~

Morning came too soon and they found themselves in a rush to pack up their bags before the 11:00 am checkout. It was a good distraction - Buck barely had any time to let the doubt creep in. The stress of their schedule had everything between them feeling back to normal. 

They were loading their bags into the Uber when Maddie and Chim caught up with them, and Buck would hate them for looking so bright and cheerful and filled with coffee if he didn’t love them so much. Maddie made a few comments about how nice their room was, Chim made a few jokes about how tired Buck and Eddie look. He glanced over at Eddie and found him staring back, the look on his face impossible to interpret. 

“Hey,” Buck interrupted. “Speaking of coffee, I’m going to go grab some from the lobby. Before we go.”

“Buck,” Chim threw his bag into the trunk. “Nobody was talking about coffee.”

“Well I’m going to go get some. Eddie -” He sucked in a breath when he glanced over and caught his eyes once more. “Do you want some coffee?” 

“Uh, sure.” He grinned, and Buck was already jogging through the lobby doors. 

~

He returned two minutes later, coffee in each hand, and tapped Eddie on the shoulder. Eddie grabbed the coffee, then pulled him in for a quick but tender kiss. “Thanks,  _ cariño.”  _

Buck froze, not sure what shocked him more, the kiss or the memory of that  _ name.  _ Eddie only smirked. 

“Uh, boys?” Maddie spoke, and Buck had forgotten her and Chim were even there. “You don’t have to pretend anymore, there’s no one hear to see you.” 

Eddie smiled, giving Maddie a quick wink before locking eyes with Buck once more. “We know.” And Eddie kissed him again, longer this time, leaving Buck with absolutely no doubt. 

They heard Chim whoop from behind them and they pulled apart. “Wait!” Chim shouted, pulling his phone out as if to take a picture. “Do that again! Hen’s going to absolutely  _ love _ this!”

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I think this is my second fic ever, definitely my first buddie fic but I just had to join in on the fun. Please feel free to critique me. 
> 
> We're all fools but we're in it together!


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